The list of MAPIC stalwarts who have been part of the event’s long journey in Cannes is far too exhaustive to do justice to, from those who attended the very first event 30 years ago to those who have been Awards judges, on the advisory board, helped expand MAPIC to cover leisure, F&B and technology, spoken, moderated or simply been ever-present since first attending MAPIC.
To mark MAPIC’s 30th year, MAPIC is highlighting 30 people who have helped shape the event and the retail and real estate industry over the last three decades.
Such is the scale and breadth of MAPIC and its longstanding role at the heart of the industry, any list cannot do justice to the sheer number of people who have been crucial to MAPIC’s success but here are 30 key figures who have played their part in steering the event through perhaps the greatest period of change ever experienced in the retail industry.
Yvonne Court, Cushman & Wakefield
A well known retail industry figure at MAPIC, Yvonne Court, international partner at Cushman and Wakefield, leads the EMEA cross border retail & leisure team, and when MAPIC News last caught up with her she was optimistic about prospects after meeting with many retailers in Cannes. Retailers are taking more stores, but it needs to be the right kind of space she said of the current market environment. “The days where you had a massive nationwide roll out are over for most retailers. They are being much more selective in terms of the locations they want to go to, and also the terms that they are looking for,” she added. “New brands going in to new markets want the flexibility that if it doesn’t work, they can get out.”
Sebastien Le Goff, Burger King France
Driving footfall remains key for the quick service sector Sebastien Le Goff, director of development construction, Burger King France, told MAPIC. A veteran of the F&B industry, notably with McDonald’s, he said: “We are experiencing an upheaval in consumer habits linked to a desire for proximity, the use of digital technology and the mode of delivery. The most vulnerable sites in terms of size, merchandising and accessibility will also be the ones that will suffer the most. So it is necessary to be able to create enthusiasm for consumers and improve the customer experience. Entertainment or catering can help but also design and architecture.” He stressed that there is no “magic formula” to determine potential turnover. “It is down to us, as retailers, to do our job to offer the best experience, to use digital to build loyalty and to facilitate the life of our customers and therefore generate traffic.”
Peter Wilhelm, Wilhelm & Co
After the decision by the ICSC in 2019 to close its European chapter, Peter Wilhelm, CEO of Brussels-based Wilhelm & Co – and the last chair of the now defunct ICSC Europe – organised a meeting with the major European players and stakeholders. It was typical of Wilhelm, who has been an ever present figure in the European industry and at MAPIC and they discussed the opportunity to launch a new organisation, which would focus on representing the industry at a European level and provide a platform where its members could exchange views on specific topics, such as sustainability, marketing and best practices. As a result, the European Council of Shopping Places (ECSP) was officially launched, with Wilhelm swapping chairs to represent the new body. Wilhelm recalled: “We started our activities at the beginning of 2020, which proved to be not the easiest time for our industry. The support we have received from the industry and various stakeholders has been exceptional, maybe because we all felt that because of the crisis, we needed to have our voices heard.”
Avi Alkas, Alkas
The presence of Turkey at MAPIC feels synonymous with the participation of Avi Alkaş. When MAPIC News spoke with Avi Alkaş, chair of Turkish retail real estate company Alkaş, he said that the country’s location as a fulcrum point between Asia, Europe, and Africa, combined with a strong showing of retail brands and retail property, makes the country ideally placed to grow as markets recover. Alkaş acknowledged that Turkey has suffered from the same negative trends that have affected markets throughout Europe, but that there were positive signs for the coming months. He said: “I believe there is good potential for Turkey to grow in the coming years. We will be seeing deals and acquisitions starting again soon. Retail real estate is one of the most attractive things for foreign direct investment into Turkey.” Alkaş has led delegations of Turkish retail companies present at MAPIC, under the Turkish Brands banner. Prior to establishing the real estate consultancy that bears his name, Alkaş was a senior figure at international property firm JLL.
Philippe Journo, Compagnie du Phasbourg
Compagnie de Phalsbourg founder Philippe Journo, whose company recently opened a hotel in Paris in a departure from its retail activities, said that his company was planning an outlet village called Village De Sophia, in the south of France when MAPIC last caught up with him. The 87,500 sq m project near Antibes – just down the road from Cannes – will include 80 stores and 25 restaurants but also 15,000 sq m of offices and a 6,000 sq m hotel, with completion expected in 2028 or 2029. That it is a hybrid scheme is no surprise for someone who is recognised for pushing the boundaries of retail destinations and has been heavily involved with MAPIC’s Outlet Summit. “The industry has to adapt to the competition and the times,” he said, as he stressed that outlets needed to evolve to become places that people and families were happy to hang out in. He is well-known to create beautiful places with architects with one motto “Le beau au service du bien”.
Raymond Closterman, Rituals
Rituals CEO and founder Raymond Cloosterman gave a keynote address at a recent MAPIC and MAPIC News caught up with him at the company’s Cannes store, where he said that he has dreams to take both the Rituals brand and the business to the next level over the next five to ten years and become the number one wellbeing brand. Rituals has over 1,200 standalone stores and operates in 3,000 locations in luxury and department stores, and has a strong travel retail presence and 25% of its turnover is digital. “We are a truly omnichannel brand,” he said. From a business perspective, Cloosterman said Rituals sees opportunity to almost double in size in Europe with around 500 new stores planned across Europe in the next four to five years and a particular focus on the likes of France, Germany and the UK. Asia is also a huge target for Rituals with plans to build a similar presence as Europe. Cloosterman said that constant innovation was a key element of Rituals brand success.
Roberto Zoia, chairman of CNCC Italy
Few Italian attendees at MAPIC and MAPIC Italy can have failed to meet Roberto Zoia, chair of Italian shopping centre organisation CNCC Italy, who at MAPIC said that embracing digital transition is paramount in enhancing service offerings, providing customers with a seamless and exhilarating shopping experience. “The integration of omnichannel strategies becomes a crucial competitive factor, creating a network that strengthens and consolidates businesses,” he said. Successful centres also need to focus on their communities, he said. “Transforming shopping centres into hubs for local services is a novel approach. Beyond retail, these centres can serve as focal points for local medicine and various private and public services. This not only enhances the sense of community but also aligns with the evolving needs and expectations of consumers in a changing retail landscape.”
Klaus Striebich, RaRE
A hugely well known figure within the retail real estate market, Klaus Streibich has run his own independent consultancy since 2018 and before that was managing director of German retail developer and landlord ECE, a long-time attendee of MAPIC, his first one being in 1999. Streibich was always focused on the future of retail destinations and recently reflected: “The greatest challenge for our industry in the following years will be to stay in the minds of customers on a permanent basis. The intensity of competition will increase further, and consumer behavior is changing extremely fast; their demands and requests are becoming more and more specific and individual. Lifecycles of products and locations are shortened, which requires you to keep up with best-in-class operations and the latest technical investments, while reinventing your business and adapting to the customers’ needs or desires.”
Tom Meager, Primark
Tom Meager has been property director of fashion powerhouse Primark for over 20 years and before that headed property development at UK retailer Marks & Spencer. Not only a long time attendee of MAPIC, Meager also gave a keynote address in Cannes at the time when the retailer’s international adventures were still in their early stages. Having started by growing its presence in Europe, the company now has 25+ stores in the US and Meager continues to be at the helm of a business which has rarely missed a beat in the hugely competitive fashion sector.
Louis Bonelli, Klepierre
Louis Bonelli is a real estate executive with huge experience across Europe’s key markets. Having spent time within the leasing operations at Unibail-Rodamco, he worked with the Estee Lauder Companies before joining Klepierre, first to head the company’s leasing activities and since 2021 as director general for France and Belgium. Pivotal in representing the sizable domestic contingent at MAPIC, he is a well recognised industry figure in Cannes.
Alain Taravella, Altarea Cogedim
Alain Taravella is chairman and CEO of Altarea Cogedim, France’s third-largest real estate development firm. Headquartered in Paris, the firm also operates in Spain and Italy and boasts a shopping centre portfolio and $1.3 billion in revenue. Taravella co-founded the firm as Altarea in 1994 and retains 45% ownership of the group. He took the firm public in 2004 and three years later acquired Cogedim to form Altarea Cogedim Group. The company has increasingly focused on mixed use and urban regeneration schemes, very much aligned with the focus from MAPIC in recent years.
Maurice Bansay, Apsys
Maurice Bansay founded Apsys at around the same time as MAPIC was making its debut and he remains at the helm, having pioneered a business which was one of the first to recognise the growing opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe. He told MAPIC News that said that the urban development specialist “loves the city” and back in 2019 told us that while mixed use had become a common approach to new developments, it is something that Apsys had been actively promoting for over a decade, with a variety of completed projects around France that “put community first”. He said: “We were one of the first to take this approach and we believe that projects have to be about much more than retail, because these schemes have a cultural role within their communities. They need to be places which add to the vibe of the urban environment.”
Pierre Combet, Footlocker
Pierre Combet has worked across the retail sector helping brands find new locations and in his most recent role he is vice president of real estate EMEA for US sports footwear giant Footlocker. Back in 2017 he told MAPIC News that he foresaw an emphasis on the retail sector looking to reduce portfolios and rents as part of wider strategies that also took in planned store openings as retailers thought more analytically about where they located and how many stores they needed.
Bertrand Boullé, Mall & Market
Bertrand Boullé was one of the key proponents of MAPIC’s The Retail in the City summit, which began way back in 2010. Boulle, president and founder of French-based planning consultancy Mall & Market, reflected to MAPIC News at the time: “For centuries, trade has constituted the key component of our towns and cities. However, until recently, the modernisation of retail and the birth of new store formats that took place during economical expansion in the 1960s has, on a matter of principle and fear, been opposed by the defenders of downtown traditional business.” He insisted: “The notion of ‘population catchment area’ has become a reality and the complementary nature between downtown and suburb is a necessity. Commercial urbanism has invited itself into town. Commercial malls are henceforth associated with projects of rebirth and renovation within the historic heritage of cities.”
Antoine Frey, Frey
Around the time of MAPIC 2023, open air shopping centre developer and operator Antoine Frey, chairman and chief executive officer at Frey, finalised the acquisition from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield of Polygone Riviera in Cagnes-sur-Mer in France for a total of €272.3 million. Frey has been a pioneer in environmentally friendly retail parks and he told MAPIC News that the new acquisition shares the same sustainable retail values as its business. The company launched its Greencenter concept in 2008 as the first eco-responsible retail park. Its next generation centre concept Shopping Promenade opened in 2017. “Frey is pursuing its growth strategy with the aim of becoming the European leader in sustainable retail. This strategy has contributed to create a property company with a unique portfolio, which is now taking on a whole new dimension,” he said.
Anne Sophie Sancerre, URW
Anne Sophie Sancerre has been the chief customer and retail officer at URW for around 17 years as the developer and landlord has constructed some of the biggest and best known malls to have been built during MAPIC’s era. The most recent was the April opening in Hamburg and Sancerre recently shared: “With an increase in footfall and reinvention around the notion of experience, our shopping centres have demonstrated their post-Covid relevance. More than places to shop, they are places to socialise.”
Colin Campbell, Pradera
Colin Cambell has been the chair of retail sector real estate asset and investment management Pradera for over quarter of a century, since founding the business. The company currently manages over €4.2 billion of shopping centres and retail parks from 11 offices in ten countries on behalf of more than 60 sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, family offices and other investors. He said of the business: “In the way we manage funds, assets and people, we have the agility to change direction quickly and the confidence to stand out from the crowd.”
Daniel Losantos Egea, Neinver
As the CEO of Spanish-based designer outlet specialist Neinver for over 13 years, Daniel Losantos Egea is an industrial engineer by ICAI (Universidad Pontificia de Comillas) by education and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. He previously worked at the finance boutique A&G as junior and senior client relationship officer.
Ignacio Sola Marti, Zara
Ignacio Sola Marti is the Director of Regional Expansion at Inditex, the global fashion powerhouse behind brands such as Zara. With over 20 years at the company, Sola Marti has played a crucial role in shaping the international growth strategy of one of the world’s most influential fashion retailers.
Chris Igwe, consultant
Paris-based Chris Igwe will be known to many who attend MAPIC for his upfront presence moderating sessions and leading workshops with many of the industry’s top real estate and retail executives. He has 30 years of cross-border retail experience in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and has helped over 100 clients, including brands, 7 For All Mankind, Disney, Fossil, Michael Kors, Nike, Swarovski, TUMI, and owners and investors, like Deutsche Bank, Eurodisney, Inter IKEA, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Sonae Sierra, Value Retail, and more, to achieve their strategic goals. He is also a speaker, author and managing director of Karine Augis, a French luxury designer handbag and accessories brand.
Juan Merino Bobillo, iDEA Innovative Real Estate Services
Juan Merino Bobillo, managing director at iDEA Innovative Real Estate Services, has experience designing and leasing more than 50 shopping centres, 3,200 units and 1.5 million sq m GLA. The Madrid-based former director of Riofisa, heads up the iDEA team which is made up of a group of collaborators with a experience in conceptualisation, design, commercialisation, development, asset management and buying and selling shopping centres.
Carlos Vila, Mango
Carlos Vila has worked with Spanish retail giant Mango for nearly 12 years, primarily as expansion director for southern Europe. He has overseen a period where the fashion retailer has expanded across markets and developed new concepts, most recently its first standalone Mango Home store on the Avenida Diagonal, Barcelona.
Manuel Incerti, Apple
Manuel Incerti is a seasoned retail and real estate executive with a distinguished career spanning the luxury and technology sectors. Before joining Apple, Incerti honed his expertise at global fashion powerhouse Prada, where he spent four years managing and expanding the brand’s retail footprint. Around 13 years ago, Incerti brought his strategic vision and operational acumen to Apple, where he has since taken on a pivotal leadership role as the Head of Real Estate for Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa (EMEIA). In this capacity, he oversees the planning, development, and execution of Apple’s retail real estate strategy across the region.
Philippe Lehartel, consultant
With 35 years of experience in commercial real estate, retail, and the food industry, Philippe Lehartel has held key roles in leading organizations such as economic analyst for La Lettre M2, retail development at Leroy Merlin, real estate projects with Caisse des Dépôts, Tréma Macif, and most notably, 11 years at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield as Vice President within the operational structure of shopping centers.
For the past 15 years, he has been working as an entrepreneur and independent consultant, having supported over 200 clients in their growth, repositioning, and innovation projects. Philippe has been a long standing supporter of MAPIC, here since the very first edition of the event. He had played a key role in helping the show grow internationally and to different aspects of the retail world.
Bertrand Courtois-Suffit, Mall & Partners
Bertrand Courtois-Suffit has been a consultant in shopping centre management since 1992. Previously, he worked as real estate manager of the Montlaur Hypermarket Group and he began his career in 1974 as manager of Parinor Shopping Centre and later, with Jean-Louis Solal, of the Evry 2 and Vélizy 2 shopping centres.
Alain Boutigny, Sites Commerciaux
Alain Boutigny is a prominent figure in the French retail and commercial real estate sectors, with a career spanning journalism, publishing, and business leadership. He has been a long-time media partner of MAPIC and a judge on the Awards for many years. His dual roles in media and business position him uniquely at the intersection of information dissemination and practical application in the commercial real estate domain.
He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Sites Commerciaux, a publication that provides in-depth analysis and reporting on retail real estate trends in France and Europe.
In addition to his editorial work, Boutigny serves as the CEO of EEB, a company based in the Paris metropolitan area. His leadership at EEB underscores his active involvement in shaping the strategies and operations within the retail and real estate markets.
Melissa Gliatta, Thor Equities
Chief operating officer at Thor Equities, Melissa Gliatta, has been with the New York based developer and investor for over two decades and took a prominent role when the US was showcased as country of honour at MAPIC. Talking to MAPIC News back in 2015 she said that a key to Thor Equities’ success had been that it recognised its strengths and what deals were right for it. “As a business we feel we know our position in the market. We are interested in those locations where we can add value and we are very selective in what we look for,” she said. “Retail property is a busy business and we’re always looking at opportunities. But of course there is a lot of competition for prime positions and so I think you also have to understand that not every deal is for you either.”
Anna Paltrinieri, Arcus Real Estate
Anna Paltrinieri has over 40 years of experience in the Italian retail market providing consulting services and having been involved in more than 100 projects. In 1986 she followed the start-up EspansioneCommerciale and headed the leasing division until its acquisition by CBRE where she continued her activity as executive director of leasing. In 2015 she joined Arcus Real Estate with the role of head of leasing full price. Since June 2023 Anna has held the role of president of the CNCC Retail Commission.
Fernando Guedes de Oliveira, Sonae Sierra
Fernando Guedes de Oliveira has been the CEO of Sonae Sierra since 2010. He is also the chair of the company’s Sustainability Steering Committee. Prior to that, he was responsible for all Sonae Sierra’s development operations in Europe for 10 years. His career at the company began in 1991, when he assumed the role of development manager for ViaCatarina and Centro Vasco da Gama shopping centres. Previously, he carried out other management functions within the Sonae Group.
Ramon Sierra, International Retail Network Association
Ramon is an important person in the real estate sector, especially in retail. He is a real estate expert from the University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and created the International Retail Network Association as well as Inmored. CEO of THE RETAIL NETWORK and INMORED, he has offices all around Europe and the US. He helped the international expansion of several commercial chains such as Inditex and Marks & Spencer. He has been attending MAPIC from the beginning and played a big role in helping the show reach international heights.
